Sparks & Cabin Fever (5 page)

He couldn't be blamed, though, for what he didn't know. He couldn't help it that he was everything she'd been looking for in a man. As hard as she tried, she couldn't get his image out of her mind. She imagined Deacon's strong arms around her every night as she drifted off to sleep. Of course, it would be nicer with what would precede her drifting off to sleep. She didn't dare allow her imagination to take her on that journey. Not yet, anyway. She did crave romance even if she couldn't convince Harper of that fact. She had the same emotions as any other woman. She yearned to be swept off her feet. She wanted it all. The stuff classic romance novels were made of.

She wondered about the type of women Deacon liked—obviously women who looked and acted like Harper. He was probably like most men and loved it when a woman gushed all over him making him the center of her world. But even that had to eventually wear off if they had nothing outside of sex in common. If Harper and Deacon did connect, how would Deacon feel when he soon learned that Harper preferred the indoors to the outdoors and would never dream of hiking in the woods or sitting in front of a lake fishing. Would he realize that it was a mistake after the initial physical attraction wore off? Or would it not bother him? Maybe he'd enjoy the solitude of doing those things alone. But how long could a physical attraction last if there was nothing else? Maybe forever. Some men just wanted an ornament on their arm to show off and expected or wanted nothing more. Could Deacon fall into that category?

Stefani still didn't know whether anything would have developed between Deacon and her even if Harper hadn't dragged him away. Just because they were having a pleasant conversation didn't mean anything in the scheme of things. He was new in town and was only being friendly, since he'd met her earlier, and was probably happy to see a familiar face. She was a somewhat familiar face. That's all there was to it. Her imagination had made the encounter more than what he probably had intended. She had to face reality. Still, the way he had looked at her had made her feel so warm inside, as though he
was
interested in more than just some friendly chitchat. She sighed. Well, it didn't matter now. Her mind had been willing something to happen that wasn't in the cards. Fate was definitely not on her side. Not where Deacon was concerned.

He had willingly succumbed to Harper's charm and hadn't seemed to care that Stefani had been shoved aside by Harper without any consideration for her feelings. He should have excused himself and then hooked up with Harper later. That would have been the decent thing to do. But no, Deacon witnessed Harper practically throwing her out of the bar and he'd said or done nothing. She didn't know which one of them she was angrier with. Her jaw tightened and she brushed away the remnants of her tears. To hell with the both of them.

After she finished her soda, Stefani picked up her cell phone. No messages. That made her even more upset. Harper could have called to apologize, or at the very least to see that she'd made it home safely. No, she was too wrapped up in her latest conquest to think of anyone else. Stefani leaned back on the sofa and closed her eyes. Why had she gone to The Dusty Road tonight? She longed to turn back the clock and then she wouldn't have seen Deacon there, especially Deacon and Harper wrapped in one another's arms on the dance floor.

Images of them, with Harper grinding against him while they danced, flooded her mind. She tried to chase the vivid pictures away but they wouldn't budge. With Harper's body pressed up against Deacon with those curvy hips, ample breasts, and beautiful face, Deacon probably had an instant erection. She doubted they were still at the bar. By now, Harper had pulled out all the stops and got him so hot and bothered that it probably hadn't taken much effort on Harper's part to lure him to her bed. She'd soon find out if everything truly
was
bigger in Texas.

Harper sometimes liked to play sex games. Stefani had been embarrassed when Harper had mentioned it. Now her imagination conjured up all kinds of scenarios involving those sex games. She wondered if Deacon liked to play those kinds of games, too. She smirked. Of course he did. After all, he
was
a man. Harper might handcuff him to her bedposts and tease him relentlessly with her body. She pictured Deacon lying on his back, writhing as his erection stood straight up waiting for Harper to slide down on his cock and bury it deep inside of herself. Or maybe she wouldn't use the handcuffs and would instead enjoy Deacon's roving hands and tongue stroking her bare flesh.

Stefani shuddered and hadn't realized she'd slipped her fingers inside of her panties and was rubbing her clit as the images continued. Now her imagination substituted Harper for herself. She closed her eyes tightly and moaned. Deacon placed his hands on her firm thighs, positioning her perfectly as he brought her down slowly and eased his rock hard cock inside of her. He groaned as he lifted her up and brought her back down in a rhythmic motion. Stefani's breath caught in her throat and her throbbing clit begged for release. Her fingers rubbed her clit more rapidly, her breathing coming in short spurts as her heart pounded while a swift, but satisfying climax rocked her.

* * * *

Stefani set out the closed sign and nodded to Kathie before heading to the employee break room. She grabbed a bottle of water from the vending machine and walked to a small table. She sat down and pulled a sandwich from her bag. Her cell phone buzzed. She glanced at the name displayed. She was in no mood to talk to Harper. She ignored the call. Harper hadn't bothered to call her all weekend so why was she calling now? Especially when she knew Stefani would be at work. Stefani was still angry. She supposed the reason Harper hadn't called all weekend was because she'd spent the entire weekend holed up in bed with Deacon.

Stefani had spent Saturday cleaning her closets and on Sunday treated herself to a long hike. She'd spent hours in the quiet peaceful woods clearing her head. When she returned home, she fixed herself a light dinner, took a long bubble bath, and curled up in bed with her new romance novel. She wasn't ready to forgive Harper and wondered if she'd ever be able to. Her phone buzzed again. She rubbed her forehead. If she didn't answer, Harper would persist. She answered the call.

“Hello, Harper,” she said stiffly. “This better be important since I'm at work.”

“Hey, Stef, sorry I didn't call all weekend, but—”

Stefani curtly cut her off. “I don't need the details about what you and Deacon did, Harper. I don't care.” She inhaled deeply. “Just once I wish you'd think about someone else's feelings instead of only your own.”

“Listen Stef—”

“No. You listen for a change. I'm hurt and quite frankly you're the last person I want to talk to right now.” She clicked off, powered her phone off and then took a few deep-cleansing breaths. It didn't help. She was still pissed and she intended to stay that way. At least for a while.

She finished her lunch then stood, threw her shoulders back, and walked to her window at the counter. Kathie was busy with a customer and there were only two other people in line. She motioned to the next person.

As she waited on the young harried mother gripping her toddler's hand, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Kathie put her closed sign out. Stefani gave the mother her change and took care of the final customer. The businessman clutched an armful of large envelopes. It took more than ten minutes for Stefani to weigh and attach postage to all of them.

She handed the businessman his receipt and as she glanced at the customer line to see if anyone else was waiting, she was surprised to see Deacon standing there. Her heart sparked, but she needed to keep her cool. He belonged to Harper now. She had to stop her ridiculous fantasies about him. Without waiting for her to signal him to the window, he began to walk in that swaggering sexy way of his. She tried to avert her eyes, but they refused to cooperate and stared at him as he moved to the counter. He was wearing blue jeans, a red t-shirt, and cowboy boots.

“How can I help you?” she asked with a phony smile pasted on her lips.

He smiled brightly at her. “First, I want to apologize for the other night. I should have left when Harper arrived.” He frowned. “I wish you would have stayed.”

“You don't owe me an apology,” Stefani replied without emotion. She doubted he'd really wished she'd stayed. That would have put a cramp in his plans with Harper. And she'd spent more time over the weekend than she should have picturing those two together. Still, she couldn't get her damned heart to calm down as his dreamy eyes bore into her own. But she needed to remember the pain her heart had endured when she was shoved aside.

“I wanted to talk to you, but didn't know how to reach you.” He frowned. “Can I buy you a cup of coffee when you finish work? I'd like to continue our conversation. And I'd like to find out about those fishing holes. Maybe we could take a drive and I can check them out.”

Stefani kept her eyes level with his, hoping her eyes didn't show the deep pain within her. She desperately wanted to say yes to him, but she wasn't going to play his game. What was he trying to prove? That he could have the both of them? Even though his tone of voice sounded sincere, she couldn't take a chance.

Her chest tightened. “I have plans. Sorry.” Even if that wasn't his motive, as attracted as she was to Deacon, she'd be damned if she'd be his second choice. “Do you need some stamps or is there anything else I can help you with?” she asked curtly.

He looked quizzically at her. “No. I just wanted to apologize. Maybe some other time, then.” He nodded, and then left her counter.

She watched as he made his way to the door. She wanted him so badly it hurt. She scolded herself as she tried to get her mind to take control of her heart.

* * * *

Stefani hurried out of the post office grateful that the day was over. A heavy downpour greeted her on her exit. The dark stormy sky matched her mood. She pulled the collar of her jacket up covering as much of her head as she could. She had a splitting headache. All she wanted to do was go home, take a long hot shower, and then find a good movie to take her mind off of everything for a while. She was miserable.

As she rushed toward her car, she spotted Harper leaning against the driver's side door. If she'd been propped against the passenger side, then Stefani would have gotten in and locked the doors. But now Harper made ignoring her impossible. Harper's hair was matted to her head, but she appeared oblivious to the rain. Stefani scanned the small parking lot and saw Harper's car parked two spaces down.

“I'm getting wet.” Stefani dangled her car keys from her fingertips. “Please move, Harper,” she said calmly. “I need to get home.”

“Come on, Stef. We need to talk,” Harper replied without moving.

“We have nothing to discuss.” Harper's face expressed a sadness that Stefani had only seen a few times before. Those times concerned her parents' situation. “Are your parents okay?” she asked. She'd never forgive herself if something had happened to one of them and she pushed Harper away when Harper needed her support.

“They're fine.”

“Good.” Stefani was relieved.

Harper brushed a wet strand of hair from her brow. “Deacon and I didn't sleep together.”

Stefani raised her eyebrows skeptically. “That's a shock.”

Harper's eyelids fluttered. “That's a low blow. Especially from you, Stef.” Her shoulders slumped.

Harper had it coming. Even though a part of Stefani was thrilled that Deacon hadn't succumbed to Harper's wiles after all, she was damned if she'd be his second choice. She had too much pride to be second best.

“All he did was dance one dance with me and bought me a glass of wine. Nothing else happened.” She frowned. “He—”

Stefani shifted her weight from one foot to the other. “Look. I don't care what did or didn't happen between the two of you. It's no concern of mine.” She pursed her lips. “Right now all I want to do is get out of this rain. Besides, I have a load of things to do tonight.” Her eyes narrowed. “I'm asking you for the last time to move so I can get into my car.”

Harper eyed her suspiciously. “What do you have to do that's so important, Stef? Wash your hair? Do your laundry? Clean a closet?”

Stefani's eyes darkened. “It's none of your damned business! Now get out of my way.”

Harper met Stefani's eyes and shook her head from side to side, and then moved away from the car. “All Deacon wanted to talk about was you, Stef. He wasn't interested in me at all. Not even a little bit. I made a fool of myself and I'm sorry.” She bit her bottom lip. “He likes you. Why didn't you tell me you were interested in him? You never said a word.” She stared at her. “You're not being fair to me. When I tried to talk to you today and you hung up on me, I finally figured out why you're mad at me. That's why I'm here. You should have told me.”

Stefani ignored Harper as she opened her car door, slipped inside, and started the engine. She doubted Harper was telling her the truth. Harper was only saying that Deacon was interested in her because she knew Stefani was angry with her.

She fumed all the way home. When she pulled into the driveway, she was still seething. She rushed into the house, slamming the door behind her, and headed to the kitchen, tossing her jacket and car keys on the coat rack as she passed. She rummaged around the refrigerator for a few minutes and then decided to make a chicken salad sandwich for her dinner. Afterwards she'd take a long hot shower. Right now she needed comfort food. She picked up the sandwich, brought it to the living room and sat on the sofa. She picked up the remote and flicked on the television. She sighed dejectedly. This was the same routine she followed every night. She was in a rut. At the age of twenty-eight, she was too young to be in a rut.

She was lonely and unfulfilled. That was the bottom line. She hadn't realized it fully until Deacon had walked into town. Damn him. Why had he chosen Garden Grove? If what Harper said really was the truth, should she give Deacon a chance? Her heart screamed yes, but her mind warned her to be cautious. She didn't want Deacon to think she was a pushover for his charm. She had to do something, though. This restlessness was consuming her. Damn Deacon. Why was she allowing him to stir her emotions up? She took a bite of her sandwich. The empty space inside of her begged to be filled, but the sandwich definitely wasn't doing the trick. She tossed it onto the plate and turned off the television. She knew what had always been missing from her life: Romance. It always came back to that. That's what her heart ached for. Her parents had it. They always had. The way they still looked into one another's eyes showed the love they held for one another. Harper's parents had it, too.